Catherine Pier

Catherine Pier talks about her pastel landscapes

I have had a love of nature all my life and walking in the surrounding countryside,
with a dog at my side, is one of my greatest pleasures. I have always been creative
and I started painting because I wanted to bring the magical tranquil feeling I
felt on my walks, back into my home. I paint instinctively and my hands follow my
heart. When I look at a finished painting I want to feel as if I could step into
it and feel the sun on my face and the rustle of the trees, the pure magic of the
landscape. I paint for myself and I am extremely lucky that my work is so sought
after.

I paint in all mediums but I love soft pastels for their immediacy, no brushes,
no colour mixing and no waiting for paint to dry. I paint using the softest pastels
on sandpaper, which gives a wonderful velvety effect. My pastels are often mistaken
for watercolours because of their detail and delicacy. Pastels also have the advantage
of being the most durable of all the mediums due to the minimum use of additives
and binders used in the manufacture.

Living on the northern edge of Swindon gives me easy access to amazing countryside
including the Cotswolds, the Marlborough Downs and the Thames Path. One of my favourite
places is North Meadow at Cricklade. In the spring it is carpeted with pink and
white Fritillary, in the summer it is covered with wild flowers and in the winter,
as often as not, it provides amazing reflections when it is flooded by the River
Thames and the River Churn. I have undertaken numerous commissions over the years.
Pet portraits are a favourite, soft pastels lends itself perfectly to the subject
and my love of animals helps me capture their true character. There has been many
a tear in the eyes of my customers as I pass my portraits over.

I am currently working with Anne Young from the Pear Tree Hotel at Purton, on and
am painting different aspects of their beautiful garden for all the rooms in the
hotel. Since the Pear Tree opened I have had an ongoing exhibition of paintings
and Limited Edition Prints for sale in the Atrium.

I am also a tutor at the White Horse bookshop in Marlborough, running pastel workshops.
These are extremely popular especially as there has been a decline in good traditional
landscape painters over the years due to the popularity of contemporary art.

I have been painting seriously for 28 years over which time I have produced hundreds
of landscape paintings and a have a photographic record of nearly every one. I am
delighted to offer my paintings through ArtGallery.co.uk and I enjoy the thought
that those who buy my paintings are getting some pleasure from them. One day I would
love to produce a book incorporating these paintings as a tribute to the great British
countryside.